Senior Living

Coping up with age after Sixty

/ Leave a Comment / Ageing Gracefully, Life after 60, Managing Changes after age 60, never too old to enjoy, Senior Living / / , , ,

Updated on September 25th, 2022

Changes in Life after sixty
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Ageing is inevitable and everyone has to go through it. With improved health consciousness and medical facilities, the Life Expectancy has increased across the world and the definition of becoming old has undergone a change. Today, 60 is the new 40. One has nearly 30 to 40 yrs more to live after 60. With age one goes through certain physical, mental and psychological changes. One needs to be aware about these changes and accept them gracefully.  Enjoy your golden years of life by taking good care of your  physical, mental and emotional health.

Changes after Age 60

Changing Priorities after 60

So your priorities in life change after 60. Till 60, you are presumably employed and have a busy life. Your priorities generally are your job, career, health and your family, in that order. However, after retirement when reaching 60, your priorities change to Health, your post-retirement finances, living life meaningfully, staying relevant, being socially active and fulfilling your Bucket List.

Physical Changes after 60

With ageing, You will gradually start seeing changes in your body. Don’t get disturbed when you observe wrinkles, sagging of skin or shrinking body shape due to loss of muscle mass,  increase in weight, greying/balding of hair etc. There will be other physical changes too which happen gradually as we age like  painful joints, stiffening of arteries, loss of hearing and change in your vision.  Accept these changes positively as a part of your ageing process. Do your best  and take  care of your body by staying physically and mentally active.

Mental Changes after 60

There are mental changes too. You may realise that you are not mentally as sharp as you used to be. You may have difficulty in recalling names, recognising people and remembering facts.  Stimulate your brain by undertaking activities like jigsaw puzzles, playing cards, building your vocabulary, learning new skill, painting, playing music etc. Remember that mental health has an impact on physical health and vice versa. Use your  experience, knowledge and wisdom effectively to stay mentally active and arrest you cognitive decline.

Psychological changes after 60

Gradually, one also starts to feel the loss of identity, the purpose of life and how to be meaningfully and productively occupied.  The feeling of ageing with fear of sickness and health also start haunting, at times. The older you grow, the more isolated you become.  There are  times when you are anxious, worried and lethargic for no specific reason. Life appears worthless to you. This is when one starts having bouts of anxiety and stress which further harms both the physical and mental health.The main causes of these psychological effects are:

Availability of more time for yourself after retirement than before and the freedom to pass this time the way you want to do

Reduction in disposable income with stoppage of regular monthly paycheques and fear of losing out on finances

The realisation of the need to make your life relevant by being helpful and contributing to society in any manner.

The greater need for a fulfilling social relationship and feeling of being wanted.

The realisation of Living life Meaningfully with a Purpose.

The need to rework your Life-style-activity plan factoring lower income and increasing expenditure on health and wellness in future.

Desire to engage in productive activities so as to leave a mark behind when you depart from this world

What 60 Plus must do to cope up

Maintain a good Health

Always remember, you are an asset to this world so long as you enjoy  a good health or else you become a liability. Your holistic health includes physical, cognitive, emotional and spiritual health.

Keep a check on your Biological and Subjective age to remain younger than your age.

There are three ages, chronological, biological, and subjective or psychological. The first is calculated based on our date of birth; the second is determined by the health conditions and the third is how old you feel you are. While we don’t have control over the first, we have some control over the later two. You can reduce your Biological age with Exercise, Nutrition, Emotional State and control over stress levels. A positive attitude and optimistic thinking can reverse the third age. It  makes you feel younger. Lower ‘subjective age’  or ‘psychological age’ has a significant effect on your  physical and mental health.

Add balance, flexibility & strength exercises in your daily  routine. It improves your balance, posture, and the quality of your walking. It also reduces your risk of falling or fear of falls.

Always keep Learning something new

 Learning something new  adds value to your life and keeps you sharp. Learning builds your brainpower, keeps you sharp and extends your life. Every time you learn something, your brain grows new cells. It will always keeps you young, no matter what your age is. Your experience, knowledge and wisdom will decay if you don’t boost it by continued learning.

Monitor your Finances

Most retirees have mainly retirement corpus, pension and social security (in some countries) to live on. You may have income from any part-time job that you may undertake or rental income, if any. You have not only to preserve your nest egg but also make efforts to make it bigger through investment to last your entire life.

Be Relevant through Meaningful engagement

After Retirement, it is easy to while away this time by sleeping late, watching TV, doing household chores or playing with your grandchildren. These activities may keep you busy but will not give you a sense of fulfilment. So engage in activities which add value to your life like learning a new language or skill, starting a new venture or doing something which contributes to the community. Before departing from this world, you must leave a mark, create a memory or make as many people happy as possible.

Have a Good Social Life

It gives you a sense of belonging and makes you feel wanted. It makes your life worthwhile and enjoyable. It provides support and help keeping your stress levels in check.

Make & Fulfil your Bucket List

Make a Bucket List, if you do not have one. Make all out efforts to achieve all items in it before it is too late. Your list may include places to travel, skills to learn, people to meet, and doing anything else that matter to you most. Life is not endless, and you may not have the adequate strength to achieve many of the activities, if you postpone it indefinitely.

Modify your Life Style

Make a routine which balances leisure and entertainment with activities which give you a feeling of fulfilment. Your routine  must cater for time for your wellness activities, your productive pastimes, entertainment and socialisation. 

Exploit your Experience and Knowledge

Volunteer and use your knowledge and experience for the benefits of others. Consider activities like coaching and mentoring to help others. Your mind will always remain sharp.

Have a good night sleep

Sleep is as important after sixty as in childhood. You need 7 to 9 hours of slumber every night. 

Overcome the fear of death

by going spiritual. Spirituality frees you  from the psychological fear of dying which is a common cause of worry and anxiety.

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CONSTRUCTING A CUSTOMISED HOUSE

/ 8 Comments / Quality of Life, Senior Living, Smart Living / / , , , , ,

Updated on October 21st, 2022

My Experience of Constructing a House

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I was located at a distance away from my site and it was not possible for me to closely supervise the construction activity or even to visit the site more than once a week. Therefore, I got into a composite contract with a builder who would construct the entire house including the building material at the negotiated rate per square feet. Having limited experience in this field, I used to make routine weekly visit to monitor the progress. Unfortunately, due to lack of experience, I had given the house construction on contract without laying down any specifications of quality and make of material to be used.

To my dismay, I observed that the contractor was using material of sub-standard quality. However, since I had not got into a written contract with him and the deal was conducted purely on trust, I could not pressurize him effectively to use the high-end material in construction. In addition, the progress was not as per the promised timelines. Ultimately, I had to get rid of the contractor by paying for whatever he had done, at his terms, so that I could construct a house of my choice.

Having cancelled the contract, I had now to undertake a tedious task of direct hiring of tradesmen for activities like masonry, wood work, stone laying, electric work, plumbing etc, procurement of material from the vendors, dealing with the municipal/urban town planning authorities for necessary clearances at various stages of construction and supervision of day-to-day work.

It was a difficult task but I took is as a challenge. I had to struggle a lot and devote a good amount of time but the joy of seeing my house coming up as per my desire,  compensated it all.

Finally, I was able to complete my house in a shorter timeframe and at a lesser cost than that quoted by the outsourcing contractor. At the same time I had the satisfaction of ensuring quality and customized features of my choice. Therefore I thought of sharing my experience in the form of some useful tips applicable for every stage of construction for anyone who is aspiring to construct his house. Here are some tips:

Tips on House construction

1.  Type of House to have ? First of all, have the concept of the house that you would like to have very clear in your mind. Put it down on paper as a sketch.

2.   Hire a good Architect. Communicate your wish to your architect as a layman, who would now translate your wish in to a building drawing with detailed layout. Do not compromise on this aspect.

3. Estimate the Rough Cost. Work out the Rough Estimate of Cost in consultation with your Architect.   You may have to undertake an exercise for matching your estimated cost with your Budget. Adjustments of your wish list as per the budget may have to be done.

4. Include Green Building Concepts. Make your House a Green Building by including natural lighting, solar heating/solar power and rain water harvesting. These aspects would help you save on your electricity and water bill.

5.  Include Senior Friendly Features. Do not forget to include senior friendly features like non skid tiles/stones in washrooms, railings for support at appropriate places, slopes with low gradient instead of stairs etc. as the concrete structure of  your house is going to last you at least for 40 to 50 yrs. Remember that senior friendly features are good for all ages. Universal Designs have been developed by The Centre for Excellence in Universal Design (CEUD) to meet the needs of all people who wish to use them.

6. Cater for Smart Home Features. Plan for Smart Features that you intend to install in your house like security system, lawn mowing, lighting  etc. in time to include certain design changes, additional electric points etc. This would avoid complications at a later stage.

7.  Ensure Pest Control. Depending on the local conditions make sure that appropriate pest control treatment is given the soil before the construction takes place.

 8. Take necessary inputs from others. Involve your partner while making choice of aesthetics, kitchen, toilets, colors, paints, fixtures etc. Also take inputs from any known person who has undergone this exercise lately. Visit sample homes displayed by the builders to get new ideas. If you believe in Vastu/Feng Shui,  incorporate their principles in construction design itself

9. Plan for Finance. Have timely arrangement for availability of finance at various stages of construction. Cater for nearly 5 to 10% more than the estimated cost.

10.  Decide on Outsourcing vs Directly Supervised Construction.   The choice to undertake the project under your direct supervision  or Outsource the entire project is a decision that you need to make. Both methods have own merits/demerits. It needs to be kept in mind that while under direct supervision too, you would in fact be outsourcing every individual work task-wise eg. masonry work, stonework and tiling, wood work, painting, grill and steel work, plumbing, landscaping etc. yourself.  However, in case of complete Outsourcing, it would almost amount to outsourcing entire project from “Concept to Completion Stage”  on pre-decided specifications and rates.

11. Outsourcing the entire project.  If you decide to outsource the entire project, your headache would be limited to dealing with only one contractor and monitoring the progress as per specifications and timelines.

12.  Construction under direct control and supervision. If you decide to undertake construction under direct supervision, be aware that this would demand a good amount of your time and attention. However, cost wise and specification wise you may be better off. At the same time you will have the flexibility of making any changes, additions and alteration within the broad framework of approved plan at anytime. You must take this exercise only if you have adequate time to devote.

13.  Modifications under Outsourcing.  Even if you have outsourced the entire project to a contractor, it does not mean that you cannot make minor changes in choice of use of material or on aesthetic aspects. You will realize that as the project progresses some new ideas will crop up. Generally the contractors are reasonably adaptive unless the cost effect is too high. In such cases, a difference in the cost may have to be adjusted.

14.  Guard against Time and Cost Over Runs. Monitor the progress against the prepared PERT chart and take timely corrective action, if delays noticed. Keep a continuous check on costs.

15. The major issues for Direct Supervision.   It is advisable to hire a consultant who would assist you in supervision of your work and advising you. Get a Pert Chart made as a project management tool and identify important milestones. Have all drawings ready before undertaking the construction. The major activities that you need to concentrate on while  undertaking the project under your direct supervision would be:-

–Identify reputed vendors for supply of raw materials like cement, bricks, other aggregates, wooden/aluminium door/window frames, steel etc. Get into a rate agreement with them for supply of items and have an understanding of supply of these items directly to site on telephonic orders. Have a system in place to monitor the quality of items supplied.

–Identify reliable labor contractors for Masonry work, Wood work, Stone laying and tiling, steel fabrication, Painting,  electrical,  Plumbing and landscaping.

-Apply for necessary municipal/town planning clearances as per local rules during various stages of construction (if necessary). You may consult local town planners to know the prevalent rules in the area. Obtain electric connection, water connection and sewage connection well in time. Stick to the laid down building laws, to avoid complications at a later date. 

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Technology for Seniors

/ 2 Comments / Quality of Life, Senior Living, Smart Living, Technology / / , , , , , , ,

Updated on October 21st, 2022

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On his visit back home to India from abroad, Ramesh Sharma gifted a Smart Phone to his father and said “Dad this smart phone is as powerful as a laptop and will help you in organising most of your activities.”  The Dad was very pleased and said “Thank You son, I will definitely use it.”

After six months,  when he visited home again, he enquired from his father “Dad, Has the new  phone helped you in getting  you organised  better?”  His father remarked ” Yes, I am using it effectively for WhatsApp video calls and social media sites apart from normal voice calls.” “But Dad, this smart phone is capable of doing much more.” retorted Ramesh. Dad said “I am not very conversant with the other applications of the phone.” “Ok Dad, give me some time, I will set up everything useful on your phone provided you promise to use it” said Ramesh”.

After Dad’s confirmation, Ramesh did not only set up the phone  but also demonstrated to his Dad on how to use all the new applications that he had installed. His Dad was an educated man but is was just that he was  not very technology-savvy and was hesitant to try new apps on his smart phone.

After six months, Mr Sharma, the  Ramesh’s dad started using his smart phone extensively. He not only mastered almost all the features of his smart phone but also started educating and demonstrating to his friends. He realised that one does not have to be technology-savvy to use the Apps today, as most of them are very user-friendly. Now his smart phone is helping him in the following activities:

-Reading News

-Setting Alarms and Reminders

-Making a ToDo list, shopping list and notes

 -Online banking, shopping and investing

-Giving current information about weather

-Navigation assistance and traffic information

-Assisting him in Exercise, Fitness  and Meditation Routines through Apps.

-Playing music and movies/videos for entertainment

-Xeroxing, Printing and Faxing his documents

 -Keeping in touch with family near and far through social media, Skype, FaceTime and email

-Making travel arrangements

-Getting medical advice and information including doctor reports, test results and care giving for seniors

-Sharing and viewing pictures

-Helping him to fight against loneliness and isolation

-On line Educational courses

-As a remote control for controlling almost all the smart home devices installed at home

Mr Sharma’s example is not an isolated case. We all are hesitant to use the new technology. Over the years, the technology has changed our entire living pattern. It has revolutionized almost every aspect of our life, from entertainment to health care and from connecting with family and friends to connecting with your car.

The advent of internet has changed the entire world. Today nearly 55% of people in the world have an access to internet and nearly  36% of all internet  users own a smart phones. Day by day, the global smartphone penetration is only inreasing.

The PCs have been replaced by Tablets and smart phones with a near matching functionality. The Smart Phones give us an immense capability to re-organize ourselves to achieve  a better output and quality of life.

Like Mr Sharma, most people use Smart Phones mainly for communicating with others either on voice or video or through social networking sites.  However, these smart devices are capable of much more. Right with the alarm going off in the morning till putting your lights off at night, these devices can do  a lot for you. 

There are a large number of mobile applications available today, many of them, free of cost  which can add value to these phones and make our life much easier. These apps can help saving time, efforts and help you organise yourself better. If exploited effectively, these can automate many of our tasks.  There is either a general lack of awareness or hesitation in using these applications, especially among the Fifty Plus generation.

Aim is to bring out as to how to use Smart Phones and Tabs for easing our day-to-day life.

While I am sure most of us already using social media applications like Facebook, YouTube,  Instagram, Whatsapp, twitter etc and other popular entertainment cum learning application like  Netflix etc,  yet there are many more useful applications which are available which can make our life easier. Most of them  can be easily downloaded from the store without any charges.

I have made an attempt to list a few most useful applications which you must give a try.   I have tried each one of them and have found them to be of great help.  Depending upon general requirements and usage, I have divided these application into two categories viz; ‘Must Have’ and ‘May Have’.

‘Must Have Apps’

You Tube.  YouTube is a great place to discover new things, learn and watch all entertainment and information videos free of cost.

Face book. It is the most popular social media site which has been integrated so completely into our lives that it seems almost superfluous to even mention it in a list of useful apps. Over 1 billion of the 7 billion in the world use it.

Skype. Skype is a user friendly app which allows people to communicate with each other by voice using a microphone, by video using a webcam or camera in your smartphone or tablet, by IM (instant messaging), or a combination of all three.

Whatsapp.  It is the most inexpensive way to stay in contact. Just connect to Wifi and chat away for next to nothing. You can catch up with your family and  friends via video and send  your latest favourite photos.

Twitter. This app is great for news, networking and ‘tweeting’ what’s on your mind in just 280 characters.

Google Maps.  It is a web mapping service which offers satellite imagery, street maps, 360° panoramic views of streets, real-time traffic conditions and route planning for traveling by foot, car, bicycle and air or public transport.

Cam Scanner. A very effective application for photo copying the documents and images and saving, sharing, faxing, printing or exporting them directly from your Smart Phone. The clarity of the image and their handling becomes much better.

True Caller.  It is an integrated Caller ID service.  It saves time, gives peace of mind and gives safety and security and helping avoiding unwanted calls. 

Evernote.  It is a very powerful organiser cum notebook application with option of saving web pages, screen shots and many more in the note itself.

Snapseed. It is a photo editing software which has many photo enhancing features. It is very easy to use which makes it the best photo editing application.

Flipboard. It is news sharing app wherein readers can flip through articles,  images and videos in a magazine format. It is again very easy to use. You can do without a Newspaper.

Google Photos.  All your photos are backed up safely, organized and labeled automatically, so you can find them fast, and share them how you like. If linked to Google Home, you can view these pictures on TV screen just by giving voice command.

Pocket. The application allows the user to save an article or web page to remote servers for later reading. The article is then sent to the user’s Pocket list (synced to all of their devices) for offline reading. Pocket removes clutter from articles, makes reading easier and also comes with its own Text to Speech feature.

Highly Recommended Apps for Seniors

Headspace. It is a meditation app which offers free  Basics pack, a 10-day beginner’s course that guides you through the essentials of meditation and mindfulness. It will be of help to those 50 plus, who have been wanting to do meditation, but have not been able to start due to lack of motivation or guidance.

Medisafe. This smart app reminds you  when you or somebody else needs to take a medication  through an alarm . Simply input the medications you take and when, then log your entry as you go. You can sync the app with chosen people, meaning gentle prompts can be given if a dose has been missed.

Magnifying glass with light. This app is extremely helpful for those seniors, who love to read but have a deteriorating eyes sight. The app has a magnifying glass with light  which illuminates and magnifies (zoom in and out) any reading material making it easier to read.

Fitness trackers. Fitness tracker apps on the mobile phones make it easy for older adults to monitor activity and sleep, ensuring that they get enough exercise.

 Voice Reader. It is a free app which is available both on android and ios. You can either manually type text, upload a text file or enter a web page URL by tapping on the Add icon on the top navigation bar.

Digital Assistant Alexa

Digital Personal Assistants.

These digital assistants are interactive and execute a number of instructions just on voice commands. These devices/applications are packed with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and can perform many tasks with a fairly high degree of reliability. They are a boon for elders. They can help you with

  • Making To Do list, Shopping List and updating you calender.
  • Setting Alarms and Reminders and converting voice messages to text and sending them.
  • Playing Music, Live News, Weather and Traffic.
  • Home automation like switching on/off lights, TV and other appliances.
  • Remembering your Passwords and places where you kept your things
  • Reminding you to take medicines in time, assisting in shopping on line and even booking cabs.

Siri is the personal assistant residing in Apple devices.

Cortana is the name given to digital assistant which resides in Windows PC and smart phones.

Amazon Alexa

Alexa is the personal assistant residing in Amazon Echo which is a bluetooth speaker packed with artificial intelligence.

Google assistant is the personal assistant in android phones and also resides in seperate bluetooth speakers Google Home which is packed with artificial intelligence.

Demonstration of Amazon Alexa and Google Home

Make life better with Alexa and Google Home as you age

‘May Have Apps’

Google Translate.  Google’s free service instantly translates words, phrases, and web pages between English and over 100 other languages. A boon for one who travels  and interacts with foreign nationals. A very good aid to those who are learning a foreign language.

Kindle E-Book Reader.  Amazon Kindle pulls ahead of the pack of eBook readers with its access to a huge library of content, which includes free books and content from various publishers. You can even listen to the ebooks by selecting them on Echo digital assistant Alexa.

Drop Box.  A very good App for file sharing and storage. If  your work involves mobility, this app allows you to share your files and provides you with 2 GB (Free Storage) to work from anywhere.

Trello.  Incredibly easy to use for making all your lists. Great mobile app.  It’s free. Trello keeps track of everything, from the big picture to the minute details

There are over 2.5 million Apps in Play/App stores and more are being added everyday. I have listed only the most popular and useful Apps which I have tried myself. I felt that they are most useful for 50 plus generation. You may find many more apps which are specific to your requirement. So, do not hesitate to download and use it. If you find that it is not serving your purpose, you may uninstall them whenever you feel.

Make Your TV Smart

In case you are not owning a Smart TV,  it is possible to add smart features to your existing LCD and LED TV by attaching some external devices to your HDMI port.  These devices are not very expensive  and can stream a host of movies, videos, TV shows and other programs to your TV thus making it Smart. Here is how you can do it.

So how many of these smart features , we at  50 plus are using. If not, now is the time to explore and exploit the  capabilities of technology available to us, become better organised and improve our Quality of Our Life.

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